Enjoy the Sochi men's hockey tournament, because it might be the last Olympics to include NHL players' participation.

And that just might be the right decision.

These are the fifth Winter Games in which the league crams games before and after a multiweek shutdown to permit selected players, who risk injury, to compete for gold, silver and bronze. As with Nagano, Japan, in 1998 and Turin, Italy, in 2006, the Sochi Games mean extensive travel for the involved players and games played at all hours of the night if you're living and watching in the U.S. and Canada.

And that's where it gets dicey. Does the NHL gain enough of a financial boost from the added exposure of its players to potential new fans? It probably did when the Games were shown live in Salt Lake City (2002) and Vancouver (2010).

But the next Winter Games will be held in PyeongChang, South Korea. League executives were already concerned that Sochi required a longer interruption of the season than ever before, and that could happen again in 2018.

The NHL players - 150 of whom were chosen to go to Russia - are all for the idea of continued participation regardless of the risk, inconvenience and hardship.

There has been talk of re-introducing the previously successful World Cup of Hockey, an Olympic-style tournament played in late summer when it doesn't interfere with the NHL schedule. But the event doesn't have the same cachet as the universally exposed Winter Games.

The NHL, like all businesses, is looking to build its brand and grow revenues. Expansion is probably around the corner because two more franchises are needed to balance the number of teams in the East and West.

The league has been on an uptick since the end of last season's lockout: a hotly contested 48-game schedule to which fans flocked, competitive and engaging Stanley Cup playoffs and a new season with realignment highlighted by another snow-globe Winter Classic and the introduction of the outdoor Stadium Series.

Can we imagine the Olympics without the NHL's participation? Consider this: The 1980 Miracle on Ice would not have happened otherwise.

Olympic prediction: Canada is getting all of the pre-tourney hype, which is nothing new. However, Canada - the gold medalist in Salt Lake City and Vancouver - didn't medal, let alone win, with NHL players in either Japan or Italy. As crazy as it might sound, the feeling here is that Russia finds a way to win on home ice with the U.S. grabbing silver and Canada the bronze.

Simplifying the decision: Much was made of Canada replacing Steven Stamkoswith Lightning teammate Martin St. Louisand how awkward it might have been for general manager Steve Yzermanto pass over the Tampa Bay forward again. Simply, it wasn't as much an emotional decision as one that makes sense.

Stamkos is a goal-scorer, a power-play threat who probably wasn't going to kill penalties or play during a defense-needed final minute of a game. That's how you would describe St. Louis' game, too.

Difficult situation: The news that Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, 26, had a stroke is made less scary when it is explained that his condition is treatable with blood thinners and shouldn't threaten his playing career. The team said Friday that Letang, who will miss at least six weeks, has a very small hole in his heart, a common condition but one that can seal shut in many people before birth.

Slap shots: That 20-0-2 start by Anaheim at home has turned into a 2-5-0 slump in the Ducks' past seven games as hosts. ... Does scoring first forecast a victory? It seems to for the Blackhawks, who are 27-1-6 when scoring first. The Avalanche, Blues and Hurricanes boast similarly gaudy records, having lost only once in regulation after scoring first. ... Nothing new for Alex Ovechkinto score 40 goals, as for the fourth time in his nine NHL seasons, he's the first player in the league to reach 40.